This ominous little phrase is often associated with all kinds of bad news, be it break ups, deaths, illnesses, or something else of equal unpleasantness. In the context of this article, it deserves its reputation. We do need to talk. We all need to talk. And not just small talk. We need quality communication, not empty words and broken promises. There are currently a lot of people in the media who are doing a lot of talking, but to me it’s the same set of regurgitatedwords. If we’re lucky, they’re slightly reformatted. Strong and stable. Make Britain Great again. For the many, not the few. Change Britain’s future. Britain together. When you repeat the same thing over and over, it loses its meaning.

In the midst of multiple crises faced by students, universities and schools, the outcome of the snap general election will be a major indicator of the future of the UK education sector. Each week until the vote we are featuring perspectives from our regular contributors and guests on what the election could mean for students.

The snap election. The vote looming over the future. We in the UK have the privilege of affecting the result. As students, young people and members of a fast changing world, voting in a western country like ours means more than just influencing your own future. Electing certain policies through parties can drastically alter how Britain relates to the rest of the world. How the next generation develop, what they value, and the state of the planet they will live on are all on the line. It is crucially important, therefore, for us each to familiarise ourselves with each party’s policies and plans. Not only is it vital to consider how these policies will affect broader issues such as the environment or foreign relations, it is also vital to be sure that the party you vote for stands to protect what you value in your country.

Standing for election in Rwanda is not to be done lightly: although opposition is nominally allowed, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeatedly raised concerns about torture and imprisonment of dissenters. Opposition party leader Victoire Ingabire is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence, and many other activists have gone missing in recent years. Habineza himself was forced into exile prior to the last presidential elections in 2010, after the DGPR vice-chairman André Kagwa Rwisereka was murdered.Continue Reading

The 25th March marked the 60-year anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. The Treaty of Rome gave birth to the European Union as we know it today. Its intention was to create stronger ties, a common market, and better relations between the European countries. In the wake of two devastating world wars, it was hoped this union would create long-lasting peace and prosperity. It is this Union that our government is hell-bent on throwing away with the ‘hard’ Brexit that Theresa May’s clean and complete break from the Union promises. It’s thought that this ‘hard’ Brexit will greatly hurt the UK, causing economic turmoil and uncertainty for the future of mainland Europeans living in the UK. There are many other possible negative outcomes from a ‘hard’ Brexit, but the reality of Britain’s future, is in truth, unknown.

It seems like the world is going to hell. I look at my newsfeed and am presented with scenes that make me feel gut-wrenching desperation. I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that the last year has left us horrifically battered, and that we face a future where that doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon.

January 27th 2017. Holocaust Remembrance Day. Released by one Mr Trump on behalf of the White House, this statement: “It is with a heavy heart and sombre mind that we remember and honour the victims, survivors, heroes of the Holocaust. It is impossible to fully fathom the depravity and horror inflicted on innocent people by Nazi terror (…) Together we will make love and tolerance prevalent around the world.”

Is this statement missing something? Ah, yes, perhaps a specific and explicit mention of the six million Jewish people who were the victims of Hitler’s final solution.